Strewn field of the NWA 869

Around the year 2.000, meteorite hunters discovered a large strewn field near Tindouf at an unknown location in the Algerian desert. Almost 2.000 kilos of this stone meteorite was found and named NWA 869. The meteorite comes from the asteroid belt and is referred to as a class L3-6. The found fragments differ enormously in quality. There are pieces that have been exposed to desert sand for years and have lost almost all characteristics. But there are also rarer and nicely preserved orientated meteorites left.

What is an orientated chondrite?

An orientated chondrite (or meteorite in general) is covered with a fusion crust with flow lines. These were created when the meteorite made a stable journey through the atmosphere in which the front side melted and streamed backwards by the speed. In some cases you can see the accumulation on the back of the meteorite. With the NWA 869 there are very few fragments left where this is still visible. We are therefore pleased with this specially selected selection.